part0011

Sam groaned, rolling over in the comfortable bed and waving his hand at the annoying voice.

“Jus’ five more minutes, I promise,” he mumbled sleepily. Greg was probably trying to wake him for some class.

“None of that. We have a schedule to keep and a Mayor to meet!”

Sam felt a heavy weight land on him, and slowly cracked his eyes open. It took him a few seconds to recognize that there was a large black and brown dog sitting on his chest.

“Ah, I see that you are finally up. Very good,” the dog said.

“Holy shit! A talking dog!” Sam exclaimed, his mind still half-addled from sleep.

“Gaahhhh!” Sam screamed in rage, surprising Gordon so much that he actually leaped off the bed, as it all came back to him.

“I was only doing you a favor. No need to shout,” Gordon said, sticking his nose up in the air and heading to the door, tail rigid as an iron bar.

“Wait, Gordon! I’m sorry, just had a bit of a shock,” Sam quickly said. He still had questions and didn’t need his only source of information giving him the silent treatment.

The dog stopped, turning his head back to look at him. Then he dipped his head ever so slightly and continued out of the room.

Sam blew out a relieved breath, then rose from his bed. Almost immediately, he swayed, feeling the effect of the divine curse. If I ever get my hands on that damned Overlord…

He blew out a long breath. If he ever met the Overlord, he would probably die. It also didn’t help his mood, that his only way out of here was to kill said Overlord.

Moving around the room, Sam quickly dressed in the new Farmer’s Clothes , more than a little surprised that they fit him so well. As soon as the boots were on, he felt his Strength increase and let out a relieved sigh that he would be strong enough to walk around without too much trouble. Picking up the Spatial Wallet, Sam bounced it on his palm a few times, trying to figure out where to put it.

Shrugging to himself, he stuffed it down his shirt, tucking it into the waistband of his pants and adjusted it until the bulge was no longer visible. That should keep it safe. Probably.

Heading into the kitchen, Sam let out a low whistle. It had been dark in the house during last night’s fight, so he hadn’t really been able to tell the extent of the damage. Now that it was light, he could see that it was a complete wreck! Furniture lay in splintered ruins, cutlery lay scattered about, and clay bowls lay shattered all over the floor.

The only thing that was missing was the corpse of the siren.

Maybe dead monsters got absorbed back into the world? He would have to ask Gordon about this later.

“It was one hell of a party, though,” Sam said, grinning at his own horrible joke.

Gordon padded in, clutching his stick between his teeth.

“So, how far is this town?” Sam asked, completely ignoring the nasty piece of wood that the dog continued to chew on.

“About an hour,” he replied, sharp teeth sinking into the wood, his tail swishing back and forth.

“Right. I guess we should get going then. Now that my other divine curses have worn off, I can complete the quest without losing any XP!” His stomach growled then, reminding him that, once again, he was hungry and there was no food.

Thinking about food made him realize how thirsty he was, and all that combined to make his okay mood turn sour.

“This town wouldn’t happen to have somewhere I can get some food, does it?” he asked, feeling his stomach clench.

“It would. There is a lovely inn, as well as a general goods store where you can buy some travel rations. However, you will need to procure some money if you wish to purchase these items.”

“I’ve got the money. Or at least, I think I do. Let’s get going, though. We can talk on the way there.”

Gordon was on his feet in an instant and he dropped the stick, his tongue lolling out, as his tail wagged back and forth. Sam resisted the urge to snicker and walked past the dog to head out the door.

“Not bringing the stick?” he asked as Gordon padded to his side, heading down the path to the main road.

“I believe that it is time for a new one. I will have to hunt one down later.”

“Not gonna offer me another quest?” Sam jokingly asked.

“Perhaps another time,” Gordon answered as they turned onto the main road.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Sam enjoying the early morning sunshine and the light breeze tickling over his skin. Gordon walked slightly ahead, nose pressed low to the ground and tail wagging back and forth.

Despite how smart he was, Gordon still acted exactly like every other dog he’d ever met, which Sam found to be extremely odd.

Shouldn’t he act differently, since he had a brain?

Sam decided that he didn’t care and turned his attention to more important matters, like getting his questions answered.

“How does the currency here work? I know that there are copper, silver and gold coins, but what exactly are they worth?” he asked, speeding up slightly to walk beside the dog.

“The currency is really quite simple. Copper is the lowest denomination of coin, and one silver is worth 100 copper coins.”

“Silver coins are the next up, and 100 silver coins make up a gold coin.”

“And let me guess,” Sam cut in, “is there also a platinum coin, which happens to be worth 100 gold?”

“There is indeed a platinum coin, but it is only worth 10 gold coins.”

“After that, comes the electrum coin, which is worth 10 platinum coins.”

“Wait, what?” Sam exclaimed, completely caught off guard by this.

“Yes, quite fascinating. I know,” Gordon continued, completely missing the point and continuing on with his lecture. “There are 10 electrum coins to every orichalcum, 10 orichalcum to every mithril, and 10 mithril to every adamantine,” he finally finished.

Sam clutched at his head.

“I thought you said it was simple,” he deadpanned.

“But it is the very simplest of currencies and easily explained.”

“I didn’t understand it, though. Is there an easier way for you to explain?”

“Of course!” Gordon waved a paw, and a screen popped into his vision.

“Why aren’t the amounts for the last three mentioned here?” Sam asked as he closed the screen.

“The highest denomination of coin you will likely ever see will be electrum. The other three only come in bars, but if you must know, then the highest denomination, adamantine, is worth 10 million of your Earth dollars.”

“Holy crabs! Where can I get some adamantite?” Sam exclaimed as the screen winked out of view.

“Can’t curse, so I’m trying out some substitute words until I can,” he replied with a shrug.

Gordon just shook his head in exasperation but answered Sam’s question all the same.

“As I mentioned before, the last three on the list do not come in coin form, only in bars. They are mainly used by banks, guilds, or extremely wealthy individuals when moving large sums of money from place to place. Those three metals are also extremely valuable, as the most powerful weapons and items are usually made by using them.”

“So, how hard is it to rob a bank here?” Sam casually asked.

“If you are thinking that it will be easy, you can think again. Banks are even better guarded than the Overlord himself. You will have a better chance of defeating him in single combat, with your hands tied, than stealing from someone with that much wealth.”

“No shirt?” Sam replied, earning him an eye roll from the dog. “Alright, fine. I’ll stop trying to replace my curse words and do my best to suppress the urge until the day is over. Are you happy now?”

“Fine, onto another topic then. How do I stop all the damage messages from showing up in the middle of a fight? They’re extremely distracting. Also, why don’t I get notified when my skills or abilities level up?”

“The damage notifications can be turned off at any time, merely by thinking the words, ‘turn off damage notifications.’ As for your skills and abilities, you will only be notified once they rank up. You will not receive notifications for each individual level-up, however, as you will most likely amass very many skills and it would become very distracting if you receive them on a constant basis.”

Sam immediately turned off his damage notifications, glad to get that out of the way.

“How can I tell the time here?” he asked next.

“Just think about the time, and a clock will appear in your vision, the same as when you use the map.”

He did just that, noting that it was 7:34 AM. So, time in Somerset did function the same way as it did back home.

Sam couldn’t tell if the dog was getting annoyed or not. By the way he spoke, he would think that he didn’t mind, but by the way he kept rolling his eyes, he guessed that the incessant questioning was beginning to get to him.

“Just one last question.”

“And what would that be, my ever curious simian?” Gordon asked.

“You explained the currency pretty well, but exactly how much will things cost?”

“You will need to be a little more specific. ‘How much do things cost,’ is not exactly something I can answer with any great confidence.”

Sam was the one to roll his eyes this time, and he did his best not to allow any anger to enter his tone as he rephrased his question.

“Alright. How much would the average meal cost at an inn?”

This was important because the fate of his breakfast hung in the balance.

“The average meal would cost about one silver. It may sound a bit pricy, but keep in mind that a meal is normally provided when one pays for a room.”